Telecoms deal to enable mobile banking in Africa

17 August 2009

A new telecoms agreement has been signed between two companies that will provide mobile banking services for Africans.

Monitise has entered into a joint venture with Paynet, which already operates an established payment network in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

It aims to provide technical systems for mobile phone users in these countries and elsewhere, so they can use handsets to pay bills, deposit cash and receive money transfers.

According to Monitise, mobile phone penetration in east Africa is at 50 per cent and growing. Paynet added that there is a "huge" demand for convenient and secure financial services across the region.

"This partnership will make a real difference to hundreds of millions of people, giving them greater access to their bank and helping new and existing businesses prosper," said the latter company's group managing director Bernard Matthewman.

A recent report on Africa's telecoms infrastructure showed that 90 per cent of all connections are via mobile phone networks.

Research and Markets said this base was growing by 40 per cent each year.

Category: ICT